Beans in the classroom: Teachers fuel nutrition and empowerment in eastern DRC

Teachers in eastern DRC are being trained to use beans as tools for better nutrition, resilience, and women’s empowerment, bringing nutrition education, demo plots, and community change to schools through the B4WE project.

The skies of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have witnessed decades of conflict and hardship that have taken a heavy toll, but amidst such struggles, a special revolution is unfolding, led by schoolteachers. In early September, classrooms in North and South Kivu traded their usual lessons for an extraordinary curriculum centered on one of the region’s most vital crops: beans. From Bukavu to Goma, educators and school leaders are embracing the humble bean not just as food, but as a powerful tool for improving nutrition, fostering resilience, and empowering women in their communities.